Die-Cast cars: To strip or not to strip?

[Hawkeye]

So, after gathering 1:50 scale die-cast cars for a few years now with the long-term plan of playing some sort of Battlecars/Car Wars game in 28/30mm, Gaslands is upon us, and is the impetus I need to get those vehicles converted and painted. I've stripped similarly-scaled die-casts in the past to paint for pulp gaming, but I'm still not sure it was worth the trouble (even though I'm very happy with the end results). What's the general consensus on this? I think if they were 1:64 Hot Wheels/Matchbox vehicles, I would just paint over the factory paintjob and leave it at that, but with the larger scaled G-Machines and Superkings (and similar) that I've collected, I'm wondering if it might be worth going the extra mile, as they are going to end up being the centerpiece of the game. Any thoughts on this?

[Orctrader]

I've only painted one.

Was going to strip then read here "no need."

Turned out fine, but next time I will sand the paint more.

[Dags]

Another one not bothering - I've done a few now, just glue the wheels in place with CA and spray it black

[Hawkeye]

Thanks for  responding, Orctrader and Dags (two of my favorite painters here on the LAF, as it happens!).  Both of those look great - just the sort of thing I'm aiming for. Good point about gluing the wheels in place, Dags. I think I did it with the Pulp cars I painted up a few years ago, as I didn't want them rolling around the table during games! Sanding the paint is also a good tip, Orctrader - I wouldn't have thought of it if I had decided to go the "no stripping" route.

[Andrew Rae]

Once stripped, I found the G-Machines body shells to have a few more mould lines and grinding marks than expected. I'd say don't bother stripping them. Take them apart so you can paint the interior, sure, but leave the paint.

[Hawkeye]

Thanks, Andrew - also a good point. Access to the interior is important, and taking the car apart makes it far easier to paint anyway, whether I strip the paint or not. These responses have already helped a lot  - thanks, all!